Affiliate Marketing – Can Anyone Make Money?

“Affiliate Marketing” is a term used to describe a business model whereby “affiliates” earn a commission from the sale of products produced by another vendor. The term affiliate marketing is almost synonymous with digital products (products delivered via online downloads like eBooks or video files), although many affiliates also promote other products. Some affiliates cross-sell different affiliate products to maximise their earning potential.

Online affiliate marketing usually involves the setting up of a website that contains affiliate links to the order page for the products being promoted. These affiliate links are special links with tracking code on them so that the affiliate network (like ClickBank) is able to track which affiliate sent the lead. Once an order is made, the affiliate is rewarded with the commission. He is then paid through checks or money transfers. This preference can be set in all affiliate networks.

Why is Affiliate Marketing So Attractive?

Imagine a business model whereby you sell things that you do not need to keep an inventory of. Unlike the rest of my site that teaches you to sell physical products (ie selling keychains that you buy in bulk), affiliate marketing in the context of digital products do not require to touch any physical inventory at all. All the affiliate does is send a lead to the vendor, and what the sale gets through, he gets to keep a percentage of the sales. For digital products, this commission is usually very high, reaching excesses of 70% in most cases. The reason this is so, is that there is nearly no unit cost for digital products. A digital product can be solder continually for infinity, since it is not a physical product (like a keychain which requires materials to produce). Digital products like eBooks can be easily emailed or downloaded by a customer, at no substantial cost (practically zero cost) to the merchant. Hence, it is in the merchant’s favour to sell as many eBooks as possible. He engages the help of affiliates by rewarding them with hefty commission rates. This way, it is a win-win situation for both affiliate and merchant, where both parties make money together.

How Much Can One Earn Through Affiliate Marketing?

It depends on how wide the affiliate marketeer’s reach is, and what kind of products he or she is promoting. The amount of demand for a niche (a certain market of products you wish to promote) also impacts the profitability of a niche. For example, according to statistics, at any one time, 40% of Americans are on a diet. Think about it, in our modern age, many people have access to the Internet. If someone wanted to lose weight, chances are he/she would log on to the Internet, go on a popular search engine like Google, and type in ‘how to lose weight’. Chances are he will click on a few websites looking for tips on how to lose weight. Chances are some of these websites are by affiliates who promote various slimming products like eBooks on how to lose weight, or even physical slimming remedies or pills. Remember I said earlier that affiliates also product physical products, not just eBooks. Hence, with 40% of Americans on a diet at any one time, there is a lot of demand for slimming-related products. However, this also results in high competition between affiliates promoting these products. There are many affiliates who are so good at affiliate marketing that they give up their full-time job since they are already making so much money doing affiliate marketing. Some ‘super affiliates’ can make tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in commissions.

What Should I Do To Get Started On Affiliate Marketing?

You should understand that affiliate marketing is a very competitive business and be prepared to put in lots of hard work and experimenting. It is possible to make INSANE amounts of money through hard work and experimentation, but do not expect to start making tonnes of money overnight. For beginners, there are training packages that give beginners a very comprehensive overview of what affiliate marketing is all about, and teach you how to set up your first affiliate website. A good example is The Affiliate Code by Michael Jones, a respected ‘super affiliate’ who has created this product to help total beginners get started as soon as possible.